The holiday season is the busiest shopping time of the year. In fact, more than 147 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday weekend this year according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. And annually during this time, economists pay close attention to the shopping trends.

This shopping season, salespeople looking to increase the likelihood of a sale can simply ask the potential buyer which of several items they prefer. According to new research from the Journal of Consumer Research, this skips the first part of the mental purchasing process. Instead of “Should I buy at all?”

American express has a cool new feature called American Express My Wishlist. The program offers special holiday deals to American Express Card Holders. Here is how American Express My Wishlist works.

From a retailer's perspective New York's famous Fifth Avenue is the world's most expensive shopping strip.

- Britons expected to spend £42 billion online this Christmas
- New study finds that customer opinions and reviews have five times more impact than advertising on customer buying decisions online
- Leading independent customer review publisher, Reevoo, calls for a kitemark for online reviews to reassure shoppers as a forecast £42 billion e-Christmas approaches

An online report from Gizmodo informs the consumers about Wal-Mart telling "us that it will be selling Toshiba's HD-A2 for $99 over the weekend only, starting Friday." Toshiba The HD-A2 delivers the excellent picture, sound and interactivity features of HD DVD, and adds a new, sleek, compact chassis.

While shopping is usually viewed as a leisure activity by the general public, for one shopper in twenty, the habit is a process addiction. For these "shopaholics," trips to the mall are more than holiday buying and trying on new work clothes. Rather, their "retail therapy" is an expensive habit that can spiral into financial and emotional disaster.

Retail giant Wal-Mart has begun sending notices to websites who release Black Friday advertisements ahead of the company cautioning them with legal action and penalties.

Standard economics assumes that people base their decisions on real value only and take changes in price tags properly into account. For example, a rational consumer is assumed to base his shopping decisions on “real” prices (e.g., how many hours do I have to work for a loaf of bread?) and would not change his consumption patterns if all “nominal” prices were to move in proportion (e.g. are inflated by the same factor).

What’s wrong with China? Pet food sickened dogs and cats, then warnings about toothpaste, toy trains, car tires and several types of fish came. The warnings had one thing in common - all of the products came from China. And that has people worried.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's biggest retailer, has said it is close to finalising an agreement with its Indian partner Bharti for a wholesale cash-and-carry venture and will open first store in India next year.

eBay today reported a record amount of revenues for the first quarter, earning $1.77 billion dollars and delivered Q1 GAAP diluted EPS of $0.27, non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.33. eBay also raised full year guidance.